Twins of Fate
by extremeArtist
Summary: Touko is a girl who leads with the rationale in her head. Touya is a boy who always listens to the feelings in his heart. And there was never a pair of twins who were closer. Touya and Touko have always done everything together. They were inseparable, and always had identical views. But a looming force threatens to tear the twins apart and ruin their relationship forever.
1. Chapter 1

Twins of Fate

Chapter 1

It would've been like any other day. Except this it wasn't like any other day at all. For starters, it was Touko and Touya's birthday. Their 16th, to be exact. That marked the day they

would get a Pokémon with their two friends and begin their Pokémon journey.

"Which one will you get, Touya?" Touko asked her twin brother.

"Whichever one will cover your disadvantage," Touya answered.

"Where's Bianca?" Cheren put in.

"Late," the twins answered together.

Bianca was almost always late to everything. She promised she wouldn't be late this time.

"And we actually believed she would make an effort to not be late this time around…" Cheren sighed impatiently.

Hellooooo! I'm here!" came a voice from the stairs. Bianca's blonde head, topped with a green beret, popped up. She was holding a large birthday cake.

"I was late cause I was putting the finishing touches on this thing!" she said happily.

"Wow, Bianca! This is really good! It looks so delicious," Touya exclaimed.

"I'm glad your father let you come. It's treat for him to actually let you leave the house," Touko commented.

Bianca scratched the back of her head sheepishly, balancing the large cake perfectly on her free hand.

"Heh heh…Actually, Daddy's off on business stuff, so I figured I'd get a Pokémon and go to a few towns and come back," Bianca said.

"Bianca…if your father finds out, you'll get in really big trouble. You know how he feels about you going out on a journey," Cheren said worriedly.

"If Bianca wants to go on a journey, she should. Bianca, at this rate, you'll never leave the town. You didn't even learn to ride a two-wheeler until you were 11. The rest of us had

been riding them forever," Touya said firmly.

"Touya's right, Bianca. Going off to see the world for yourself is the only way to convince your dad that you can take care of yourself," Touko said.

"That's really nice of you guys to say that…" Bianca said quietly.

The four of them stood there for a few seconds or so. The sentiment of the conversation had left everyone a little somber.

"But, hey! Let's not let this conversation get in the way of the party!" Bianca chirped, returning to her usual flighty self.

"You started it by saying you snuck out-" Cheren began, but he was cut off by Touya.

"Let's start that cake! It looks so good!" he said.

"All that's ever on your mind is sweets," Touko said.

"Nah, all that's ever on his mind is Bianca," Cheren corrected.

"All that's ever on YOUR mind is Touko," Touya retorted.

"She is NOT!" Cheren said, briefly replacing his usual cool facade for one of annoyance "As I've told you a million times, I'm not interested in a relationship with anyone."

"Mm-hm, yeah. Of course you aren't," Touya replied, grinning.

Luckily for the both of them, the two girls out of earshot. They were pouring the punch and chips a ways off.

"Why so much punch and chips?" Touko asked.

"Cause the two of you eat so much! The two of you are like a Zwelious!" Bianca joked.

"Yeah. Except we don't argue AND we work it off," Touko said, giving a small smile.

"Oh my God. Are those our favorite chips?!" came a shout from across the room.

"Touya! One thing at a time! Mixing all that in your stomach isn't good for you!" Touko scolded.

"Oh, let him be Touki," chided Bianca, calling Touko by her pet name. "It's his special day, like yours. And it's not like you're going to not eat all the cookies!"

Touko flushed and grabbed a cookie.

"When is Professor Juniper going to deliver the box, anyway?" Cheren asked.

"Oh Cheren. Don't think about getting your starter for once and enjoy the party," Bianca said, sipping a glass of punch.

The four teens ate and drank their way through all the chips, cookies, and pop, mainly with help from Touya. And Touko, although she wouldn't admit it. They were all finishing up

Bianca's cake when the twins' mom came upstairs carrying a giant box wrapped in blue paper and topped with a green bow.

"Oh my gosh! They're finally here!" Touko said.

"Hey guys! Professor Juniper finally came by! She said she could hear you clear from her office!" Ms. White joked.

"Were we really that loud?" Cheren asked.

"Depends on who you're asking," Ms. White said. "I couldn't hear the TV over you guys!"

"Oh my. We're really sorry Ms. White. We didn't mean to make all that racket," Bianca said apologetically.

"Oh, it's OK. I didn't mind."

"Oh! The box is here. Let's open it!" Cheren said.

"Cheren, you can wait just a little longer. You waited 11 years, you can wait now," Touko said.

"We've all been waiting 11 years, Cheren. We're just as eager as you are, so chill," Touya added.

Cheren cast a quick glare at the twins.

"In this box are six Pokémon to choose from. Since there are 4 of you, there's the possibility that more than one of you might want the same Pokémon. So, I put 2 of each inside.

Since you already know how to catch Pokémon, the only thing you need to drop by for is your Pokédexes and PokeBalls. See you shortly!

From, Prof. Juniper," Touko read.

She pulled the top of the box off and peered at the 6 PokeBalls inside.

"I'm picking Oshawott," she said as she picked up the PokeBall.

"I'll pick Snivy then," Cheren said.

"Tepig for me!" Bianca added.

"Well then, I'm also picking Tepig. That'll cover your weakness, Touko," Touya said as he pat to top of his sister's head.

"It's so cute how you guys always do things that complement each other!" Bianca noted.

"Well, if we're going to be traveling together, we need Pokémon that can cover each other's weaknesses," Touya said.

"Speaking of which, let's see if you can cover each other's weaknesses in a real fight! A Double Battle with me and Bianca," Cheren challenged.

"You're on! Just make sure you tear your eyes away from Touko long enough to order an attack," Touya joked, earning himself a death glare from Cheren.

"Stop it Touya. You know he's not interested in a relationship, so stop teasing him," Touko scolded.

Touya huffed. "Fiiiiiiine," he said, taking on the impression of a young child.

"Let's all do our best! You guys ready?" Bianca said.

"Hold on Bianca! We can't battle in such a confined space! Pokémon need lots of room to battle!" Touko protested.

"Oh, it'll be fine! These lil' things are new to fighting, they won't make a mess!" Bianca said.

"They won't make a mess. Now THAT was a true statement," Touko said, helping Touya off the floor.

"Touya, I can't believe you actually shielded our TV with your BODY!"

"Hey, that thing was out lifeline cause we couldn't leave town. I'm not about to let it get blown up by a Pokémon battle!" Touya said, brushing himself off.

"Someone care to explain why there are footprints in the WALL? Bianca?" Cheren said, turning to the blonde with an I-told-you-so look.

"Gosh…I never expected them to be so rowdy. They fought so well!" was her reply.

Cheren rubbed his temple in exasperation. "Bianca…you are hopeless."

"We better get out of here before Mom comes up and-"

"What HAPPENED up here?!"

All four teens whirled around.

"Mom! I, we-" Touko stammered.

"It's my fault miss," Bianca said, stepping forward. "I…I didn't think. I was so excited about finally getting our Pokémon and all…I really wanted to battle and was too impatient to

go outside. I'm really sorry about the mess we made…"

"Oh, don't worry Bianca. I can take care of the mess, no problem!" Ms. White said, smiling.

"I don't blame you in the slightest for being so eager. I remember my first Pokémon battle. I was just as eager as you. Anyway, you all should head to Professor Juniper's."

"Ma'am, let us clean up some of the-"

"As I said Cheren, you can leave the cleaning up to me. You hurry to the Professor's!"

Touko pushed open the door of their house and the two stepped into the sunlight. A flock of Pidove that had been feeding outside their home flew off over the trees, their beating

wings rustling the top leaves. Nuvema Town, their hometown, was nestled at the edge of the sea, so there was always a fresh breeze carrying the sensation of something coming.

Touko paused to inhale the fresh air the sea brought. She and Touya had grown up and spent their whole lives in the small seaside town. It was small enough for them to know

everyone in it, but big enough for them to have found something new to do every day.

The town may have been small, but it was very well known, thanks to Professor Juniper setting up her lab there. Because of that, Nuvema had gotten visits from some very well-

known professors from around the world, such as Professor Rowan from Sinnoh, and even the creator of the Pokédex, Professor Oak.

Touya shook his sister's shoulder. "Hey, Touko. We should go now."

Touko blinked. "Hm? Oh…right. Sorry."

"You four already had a battle?" Professor Juniper said in surprise.

"Yes. And Touko and Touya-"

"-were really good! They're an unbeatable combo!" Bianca cut in enthusiastically.

Touya scratched the back of his head in embarrassment. "Heh heh. Well, we had to fight at our best!"

"We had no other choice, given how well our opponents battled," Touko finished, smiling at her two childhood friends.

"Speaking of your Pokémon, have you decided if you want to nickname them?" the Professor inquired.

"I'm fine with keeping Snivy's name as it is," Cheren said.

"I think I'll name my Tepig Tyson," Bianca said, looking at her Fire Pig Pokémon.

"I'm going to name my Oshawott…Ezume," Touko decided.

"Tepig's nickname is gonna be Fudo!" Touya declared, thrusting his fist in front of him.

"You're getting way too excited about nicknaming your Pokémon," Cheren said.

Touko turned to her friend.

"You're the only one who didn't nickname your starter. Doesn't that make you the odd one out?"

"Snivy doesn't need a nickname," Cheren said. His Snivy thrust up its head in a way that made Touko think that the two would get along very well.

"Moving on to the reason for your coming here…" Professor Juniper briefly retreated to a small table behind her. When she turned around, she had four shiny new Pokédexes in her hands.

"I took the liberty of getting them in custom colors for each of you!"

"Oh my…" Touko said as Professor Juniper handed her a dark pink Pokédex. "You didn't need to do that, Professor."

"Oh it was nothing! I've known you guys since you were in diapers, and plus you're the only ones in the town right now that are eligible to go on a journey. So it's my treat!"

"Gosh, Professor! These are really nice! Thank you!" Bianca said happily.

"This color is quite nice. Thank you," Cheren said.

"Now, I assume you know what you're doing with these, as I have gone over it with you a few times," Professor Juniper said.

"Yes, Professor. We're going to travel Unova and fill out the pages of our Pokédexes," Touko said.

"Yes, Touko! Now here are some PokeBalls for catching wild Pokémon. You all remember the tutorial I gave you a while ago, right?"

"Yes, we all remember like it was yesterday," Cheren said, giving a small grin.

"Well, that's enough from me! I recommend you all head off to Accumula Town, which is just a short Route from here."

"Thanks a bunch Prof!" Touya said as the group headed out the door.

Bianca shivered with excitement. "Oooooh, this is so exciting! We're finally starting our journeys!"

"Hopefully it'll be easier for us than for other kids on other regions, because we had more experience," Touko added.

As the years progressed, people began to realize that kids might not be experienced enough to be able to go on a journey at 10. As more and more evil organizations sprung up

around the world, Unova decided to make the official age at which a kid could start their journey to 16.

"We'll be fine. We've got Pokémon by our side," Cheren said.

"Let's go to Route 1 and catch some new partners!" Touya suggested.

"Good idea. That'll also be good for experience as well," Touko said.

They were all about to head off when Touko remembered something.

"Ack! Touya! We forgot our Xtranscievers!" she said quickly.

Touya felt his sides, where he usually kept his.

"Oh snap. You're right. You guys go on ahead! We'll meet you up there!" Touya said.

Bianca waved. "OK! Sure!"

The twins ran off to their house.

Finally, after many years of waiting, their journey was finally starting.

After a quick dilemma.

Whew! After a preposterous amount of planning, at least a chapter's worth of general plot and notes and many month's of character development, Twins of Fate has finally started!

I wanted to make a story in which Touko and Touya were twins, and thought, "How would it go down if they each seemed very different from each other? How would that play out as they eventually got more and more involved with Team Plasma's affairs?" And thus, this fanfic was born!

I'm super-psyched for this one! I've worked on this chapter on and off for about two months. It's mainly for character development of Bianca and Cheren, and a little bit for our twin protagonists. I started to sputter out near the end, cause it was late and I was in a hurry to finish it. I hope it's still good! I'm pretty excite for Accumula Town too!

Hopefully another chapter coming soon! Summer's coming fast, and I'll have tons of free time when it arrives, so hang tight everyone! ^-^


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

"Mom! Mom, we forgot our-" Touya began, bursting through the door. Touko followed close behind.

"There you two are! I have your Xtranscievers here," their mother said.

"We took off in such a hurry, we forgot to make sure we had everything," Touko said.

"Yes. You two also took off out the door so fast I didn't have chance to give you your present from me!"

"Oh sweet! Thanks Mom!" Touya said.

Ms. White placed a small white box in Touko's hand, and a small black box in her Touya's.

Touko lifted the lid off and gasped. Sitting inside was a pendant with a gleaming orange symbol of a flame. Touko tilted the box slightly, letting the pendant catch

the light. It cast orange sparks like embers on the wall.

"Oh wow, mom. This his really cool!" Touya said. He lifted his pendant out of the box. It was an electric blue lightning bolt. Sunlight from outside hit it, sending

out sparkles that looked like miniature lightning bolts.

"I know you're a tough boy, Touya, but I saw it and thought it would be nice. Guys can wear jewelry too."

"N-No Mom! It looks really cool! It looks like Zekrom's lightning!" Touya exclaimed.

"Yes. And mine looks like Reshiram's flame," Touko said, recalling the legend that had been burned into her mind.

"There was only one of each left. I managed to get them before anyone else did," Ms. White said. "I'm glad you like them."

She gathered her two twins into a hug.

"Always wear those necklaces. They are a sign of your friendship with each other, your bond, despite how different you are. If ever you feel like you're losing sight

of what's important, look at these necklaces and know that the answer will lie within your love for each other," she murmured in their ears.

"We promise Mom," Touko said in unison with her brother.

"This is also a promise you're making to each other," Ms. White said.

Touko nodded, and slipped her pendant over her head, and tugged her mass of wavy brown hair, held up in a high ponytail, out from under it. To her left, her

brother easily slipped his on past his short brown hair.

"Here are your Xtranscievers. I put my number in them so I can contact you," Ms. White said, handing the devices to Touko and and Touya.

Touko and Touya slipped them into their bags and headed for the door.

"Be careful you two, and watch out for each other!"

"We will, Mom!" Touya said, putting a shoulder on Touko's shoulder.

"We'll come visit soon! Bye!" Touko said, shutting the door.

Touko twirled the crystal flame between her fingers.

"These are so beautiful, aren't they?" she murmured.

"Those reflections they cast looked awesome," Touya agreed.

Touko turned to look to her brother.

"…Where's your necklace?"

"Chill, Touki. I've got it in my pocket." Touya said .

"Why don't you wear it?" Touko asked.

"And give Cheren leverage to tease me? No thank you," Touya huffed.

"Put it on. Now," Touko said sternly, imitating her mother when she was about to scold.

Touya caught a glimpse of the look on his sister's face and stopped. He dug his hand into his pocket and pulled out the gleaming lightning bolt. Flushing, he put it

around his neck again.

"…Let's promise to _each other_ to wear the necklaces," Touko said suddenly.

Touya looked at her, surprised.

"As Mom said, they're a symbol of our friendship. Despite our differences, we always look out for each other. Let's…let these necklaces remind us of that," she said.

Touya looked down at his necklace, then at his sister. He nodded slowly.

"I'm still hiding it under my jacket."

"Oh calm down, Touya. It looks fine on you," Touko assured her brother.

"Oh, there you are!" Bianca said, waving her arm frantically.

The twins picked up there pace and caught up to their two friends.

"So, Bianca was thinking. She said it might be a good idea for all of us to take our first step onto Route 1 together," Cheren said.

"Heeeeeey! I wanted to say that!" Bianca protested, assuming her pouty face.

"I think that's a great idea, Bel!" Touya said enthusiastically, calling Bianca by her pet name.

"O-Oh…really?" Bianca said. Her cheeks were tinted with a red blush.

"Yeah! Let's do it!" Touya said. He slipped his hand into Touko's, and grabbed Bianca's. Bianca blushed.

Touko managed to get Cheren to grab her other hand.

"I don't want to give Touya leverage to tease me!" he hissed to Touko.

"You'll be fine," Touko said firmly.

"Who wants to count?" Touya asked.

"How about we all count?" Touko said.

"1…2…3!" The four teens walked in unison onto the dirt road that began the main path of Route 1. Touko inhaled deeply. Yellow flower petals danced in the

summer breeze. Large patches of tall grass dotted the path, and in the distance, Touko could see roofs of buildings.

_That must be Accumula Town. Our next destination._ she thought.

Touko felt confidence and excitement swell inside her. She turned to her brother.

"Well, the logical thing to do right now is find a new partner for each of our teams!" she said.

With Ezume striding beside her, she took her first steps into the tall grass.

After a few minutes of searching, Touko found and successfully caught her first Pokémon, a Patrat.

"You're a cute little thing! How about a nickname?" Touko said, kneeling down.

Her Patrat looked up at her with huge eyes and squeaked. Touko saw a grin spread across its face.

"I'll call you Eliska," Touko decided.

"Het Touko! Check it!" Touko heard Touya shout.

She stood up and turned to face her twin, who was holding a Lillipup in his arms.

"Whaddaya think? His name is Kallan!" he said excitedly.

"He's a feisty one," Touko commented, petting Kallan's head as he frantically attempted to lick her hand.

"This is Eliska," Touko said, gesturing to the small chipmunk-like Pokémon hiding shyly near her leg.

"Great! We managed to get the two Pokémon on this Route. That'll be useful in the future," Touya commented.

Touko nodded. "Let's not keep Bianca and Cheren waiting any longer. I can see them by the Pokémon Center," Touko said, pointing. She grabbed her brother's

hand, and the two of them exited Route 1 and entered Accumula Town.

Touko could hear piano and drum music drifting faintly from a house overlooking the next Route. Nearby was a plaza. As she and her brother met up with their

friends in front of the Center, Touko saw, out of the corner of her eye, several people in strange uniforms setting up a podium and flags. The flags bore a shield-

like logo with a P and a Z in the middle. Curious, she walked a little closer to get a better look. The people setting up were wearing blue and white uniforms that

resembled the outfits of knights. Off to the side, Touko noticed a man wearing a strange robe, waiting.

_Is he with the knight people?_ Touko thought. As she turned to rejoin her sibling, a flash of light shone in her eyes. Touko cringed and turned toward the source.

A person a ways off was absent-mindedly fiddling with an object in their hands.

"Huh…" Touko murmured. She shook her head and went over to her friends, who were about to head into the center.

"-and I raised Tyson about 3 levels!" Touko heard Bianca say.

"That's fantastic Bianca!" Touya said. "You'll be ready for the first Gym in no time!"

Bianca looked down at her shoes. "Gee…that's really nice of you to say that," she said. "Though I'm not as good as you, or Touko, or even Cheren…"

"Hey!" Cheren protested.

"She's just joking, Cheren. Learn to relax every once in a while!" Touya said, clapping Cheren on the shoulder.

Touko walked up to the group.

"Hey guys. It look alike there might be a speech taking place shortly at the plaza. Maybe we should go check it out," Touko said, jabbing her thumb over her shoulder.

"A speech? Who do you think's giving it?" Bianca asked.

"My guess, those people that look like nights," Touko said.

"Oh, those guys? I saw them when I was heading to the Center," Cheren commented.

"Hey, it looks like they're starting right now!" Touya said, pointing. "Let's go check it out!"

Touko followed her brother to the the edge of the crowd. She could hear people murmuring to one another.

"Who are these guys?" she heard one man ask.

"What's up with those weird uniforms?" she heard a girl say.

"Thank you! Thank you, ladies and gentlemen, for being here today!" Touko heard a voice ring out. She turned her attention to the podium. The man in the

unusual robe was standing in front of it , addressing the crowd. Now that he was closer, Touko was able to get a better look at him. He was wearing a robe with

the patterns of two eyes, and what looked like the battlements of a castle ringing his shoulders. His red eyes, one of them covered by a red eyepatch, skimmed

the crowd for a moment before continuing.

"I am here representing Team Plasma…"

A motion out of the corner of her eye caught Touko's attention. She noticed someone shifting through the crowd, moving towards the back. The person seemed

very uneasy, keeping their eyes trained on the ground and their shoulders huntched. Touko squinted her eyes. The person was tensely clenching and was also gritting their teeth, their breath coming quick.

Were they claustrophobic?

"…Pokémon are subject to selfish Trainers. They get pushed around, yet we call them our partners! Ladies and gentlemen, Pokémon are different from humans.

They have unknown potential. We have much to learn from them. What is our responsibility toward these wonderful creatures?"

The words shifted Touko's attention back to the man. Everyone around her was now murmuring in confusion to one another.

"What is he getting at…?" Touya muttered.

"We must liberate our Pokémon! Only then will humans be truly equal to them!"

The words of confusion in the crowd turned to ones of shock.

"Liberate them?! But-"

"Free our Pokémon?"

"Free our Pokémon?! Is he NUTS?!" Touya cried in outrage. "What does he know? There's no way he's able to talk to Pokémon. Even if he could, it's impossible

to talk to ALL of them!"

"You're right Touya," Touko said, agreeing with her brother. "However, we must agree that there ARE bad Trainers out there, even if they're aren't many…"

"Oshaaaa!" Touko turned her head. Ezume and Kallan were running towards her and her brother. Kallan had something in his mouth, and Ezume was gesturing

excitedly to it.

"What do you have there, boy?" Touko stooped down and took the item from Kallan, shaking the saliva off it.

"Does Kallan have Pickup, Touya?" she asked as Ezume climbed onto her head.

"Hm? Yeah," Touya said, picking Kallan up.

"What is it?" he asked, peering over his sister's shoulder. "Looks pretty cool."

Touko examined it. "It looks like some sort of Rubix Cube…" she muttered.

"A gold Rubix Cube?" Touya asked. "Won't having two colors make it easier to solve?"

"Yeah…" Touko muttered. She brought it closer to here face, inspecting the middle.

"Wait…this looks more like a _Void_ Cube. Void Cubes have the center cubes missing, making it harder to solve."

She gave it a twist, then another.

"Touko, if it's not yours, I don't think you should be fiddling with it…" Touya said worriedly.

Touko didn't hear him. She twisted the cubes around, completely absorbed in the puzzle.

"Your Pokémon…just now…it said…"

Touko jumped, startled. She turned around. A young man a few years older than her was standing behind her and her brother. He had long green hair tied back

in a ponytail. He was wearing a black shirt and a white dress shirt over it. He had khakis on and green shoes. Touko's eyes went to his wrists, which had a black

bracelet and peculiar square gold ones that resembled a twisted Rubix Cube.

"Well, you DID say guys could wear jewelry but, he wears too much," Touya muttered to his sister, eying the man's necklace.

"Hello," she said. "I'm sorry, I didn't quite catch what you said before…"

The young man looked intently at her.

"You Pokémon. It just said that-" he started.

"Whoa, slow down. You're talking too fast," Cheren said, noticing.

The young man sighed. "So I guess you can't hear them either. That's sad…"

"What's sad?" Cheren asked.

The young man looked at him. "That you can't hear your Pokémon's voices."

"Pokémon's voices? Are you saying Pokémon can talk?" Touya asked.

The man looked very affronted. "Yes they can talk! Are you implying Pokémon are brainless creatures incapable of thought?!"

Touya held up his hands. "Whoa, chill man. I never said that," he said.

"Well, it certainly seemed like that's what you were saying!" The young man said.

"Hey! I never-"

Touko put a hand on her brother's chest. Touya looked at her and fell quiet. But he continued to frown at the man.

Touko turned to the young man.

"You can hear Pokémon talk? That's very interesting. I'm Touko. Touko White. That's Cheren, and this is my twin brother, Touya," she said introducing everyone.

The young man turned and looked at Touko with slight interest.

"My name's N," he said.

"N?" Touko asked. _Is that short for something?_

"It's a pleasure to meet you all," he said.

"Can't exactly say the same to you…" Touya muttered, before being nudged sharply in the shin by Touko.

Bianca, who had joined the group, peeked from behind Touya. "Oooh! What a cute Pokémon!" she squealed.

Touko looked down. A purple cat with a sly expression was lurking near N's feet. She took out her Pokédex and scrolled for a few seconds.

"It's a Purrloin, Bianca. Since it wasn't on Route 1, they might be located on Route 2," she informed her friend.

"A Pokédex, huh…?" N murmured. "You're going to confine many Pokémon in Poke Balls to complete that, then."

Touko looked at him, confused.

"I too, am a Trainer, but are Pokémon truly happy being held within a Poke Ball?"

Touko was silent. She had never thought of that. She looked at Ezume, who was perched happily on her shoulder. Was he happy in a Poke Ball? He didn't seem

to be unhappy.

N looked directly at her. "Pokémon shouldn't be caught just to fill info on a machine. It's wrong!"

"I can't believe anyone would be so foolish as to catch many innocent Pokémon just to fill a device," he continued.

He adjusted his black baseball cap.

"So, Touko, right? Allow me to hear your Pokémon's voice again!" His Purrloin dashed out from behind his legs and stood in a battle stance.

Touya stepped forward, Poke Ball in hand. "Did you just try to diss my sister with that comment about filling out Pokédexes?" he said angrily.

Touko held out her arm.

"Wait Touya. He challenged me, and I don't back down from a challenge," she said.

Touya hesitated, then grinned.

"Kick his butt, Touko," he said.

The Purrloin skidded to a halt near N's feet. It wobbled, then collapsed, exhausted.

N looked at Ezume and Touko, shocked.

"I-I never expected to hear a Pokémon say such things…" he said quietly, scooping up the Purrloin in his arms.

He pushed the brim of his hat down over his eyes and reached down to his side.

A look of absolute panic filled his face.

"Is something wrong?" Touko asked politely.

"I…I had an object hanging from my belt…and now it's gone!" N exclaimed.

"What did it look like?" Touko asked.

"It was gold and looked like a…a Rubix Cube," N replied, looking around.

Touko looked at the object in her hand. She held it out.

"Is this it? Ezume and my brother's Lillipup found it," she said.

N looked at it and his face went slack with relief.

"Yes, that's it! Thank you very much."

He took it from her and examined it. Touko noticed his eyes widen very slightly in suppressed surprise.

"You almost solved it…" he murmured. His eyes shifted and looked at Touko intently.

"You might be more interesting than I had initially thought…" he said as he turned and walked off.

Touko stared after him. Touya squeezed Touko's arm protectively.

"More _interesting_? Was that guy hitting on you or something?" he asked.

"I don't know," Touko said, still staring after him with narrowed eyes.

"Well whatever he was doing, he sure was a weird guy," Cheren put in.

"Oh now Cheren, I wouldn't say weird! He just had an unusual viewpoint! And hair color…" Bianca replied.

"Ah well. Are we all heading off to Route 2 now?" Touko said. "The first Gym is in the next city. It might be a nice place to train."

"Let's enjoy some of the sights first, Touki," Touya said. "This is a nice town. Maybe we could find something interesting."

Touko looked affectionately at her brother. She always enjoyed his company, and he always knew how to take things off her mind, even if he wasn't trying to.

"OK. Let's go check out that house up in the hill first," she said.


End file.
